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Yeah, the fitness thread is where you want to be, though the op used to have a really nice summary on losing weight that doesn't seem to be there anymore.

For me the first thing to do was completely cut out soda, I lost 12 lbs in a few weeks just from that, but I was drinking a lot of it. The second thing was to start cooking my food as much as possible and checking nutritional facts on everything else I bought pre-made. Then I had to drastically cut beer consumption and I'm now down about 20 lbs. Losing weight is 95% diet, 5% physical work.

Also running is a great cardio workout, which is what you want for burning calories.

Let me be the first to cordially invite you to the fitness thread here. We're not too mean, we're moderately helpful, and we're very motivational.

I know there are various fitness threads floating around but they're always just so big.

I get how you lose weight, it's mostly eating less. It's not going to be so much of a problem for me, I'm not too overweight in the first place, and I have a really fast metabolism. The quality of my food just hasn't been so great lately and I've been going overboard. My girlfriend has always had more of a problem managing her weight which is why I need

Recipes. I'm pretty able in the kitchen but I have no idea how to cook healthy foods. I know it's mostly portion control anyway, but if anyone has ideas for tasty healthfood that won't leave me feeling empty and will minimize fatigue I'm all ears.

It's going to move from portion control to larger protein rich meals for weight training for me pretty fast. I have 25 lbs. to lose, max but I figure that if I start a diet and exercise regimen with my girlfriend it'll be easier for both of us to succeed.

Quick. Okay. Eat smaller portions. Eat more vegetables and fruits with your meals and for snacks. Eat more salad.

Wake up. Go running. In the afternoon, hit the weights.

The way to lose weight quickly, is to change what you eat, when you eat, and to exercise...a lot. I'd recommend high intensity, high impact exercises. Stuff that makes you breathe hard and sweat...like Hot Yoga! Just kidding.

Get it out of your head that anything fitness related is quick. Also get used to the idea that if you want this to work you may have to spend time learning things you don't know and trying lifestyle changes that are uncomfortable.

Get it out of your head that anything fitness related is quick. Also get used to the idea that if you want this to work you may have to spend time learning things you don't know and trying lifestyle changes that are uncomfortable.

It is just not nearly information dense enough, and it takes too long to find the pearls of wisdom in all the dross. If you have a book you'd like to recommend, or a thread that isn't in SE I am down. Books are pretty rad.

So, if I understand this correctly, you don't want to do the work of googling weight loss, or reading an already existing thread on fitness?

Hmm.

Here is the thing about weight loss, there is no magic bullet, no food or exercise that will make you thin. Sure, you will find a method that works for you for a while and if you are lucky a long while. The big thing about weight loss is patience, discipline, planning, and effort. That's what everything boils down too.

If you can't even be troubled to do the research I don't know how this is going to work for you. How will you go workout when you REALLY don't want to or resist that midnight snack? When I started LAST june I devoured information from this board, to something awful, to 4chan, to fitness books, friends who are personal trainers. You name it. I will say it again, there are no magic bullets.

I have been lucky enough to lose a significant amount of weight since then. This was not due to any thing but effort, discipline, patience, and planning.

So as a general tip, this is the fun part of the process. Planning. Right now you should be full of hope about the results. Read as much as you can, and find something that works for you and you can stick with.

Also, if this isn't a lifestyle change you are literally wasting your time. What is the use of getting fit if you are just destined to gain it again?

So, if I understand this correctly, you don't want to do the work of googling weight loss, or reading an already existing thread on fitness?

Hmm.

Here is the thing about weight loss, there is no magic bullet, no food or exercise that will make you thin. Sure, you will find a method that works for you for a while and if you are lucky a long while. The big thing about weight loss is patience, discipline, planning, and effort. That's what everything boils down too.

If you can't even be troubled to do the research I don't know how this is going to work for you. How will you go workout when you REALLY don't want to or resist that midnight snack? When I started LAST june I devoured information from this board, to something awful, to 4chan, to fitness books, friends who are personal trainers. You name it. I will say it again, there are no magic bullets.

I have been lucky enough to lose a significant amount of weight since then. This was not due to any thing but effort, discipline, patience, and planning.

So as a general tip, this is the fun part of the process. Planning. Right now you should be full of hope about the results. Read as much as you can, and find something that works for you and you can stick with.

Also, if this isn't a lifestyle change you are literally wasting your time. What is the use of getting fit if you are just destined to gain it again?

Dude there is a difference between me not wanting to spend hours reading a Social Entropy thread that is mostly irrelevant and not wanting to read at all.

I work in IT, I am more capable of using Google and research than most people. I came here for suggestions because I value the experience of other people who have already been down the path I'm about to embark upon.

The fact is I am a skinny bastard and I will bleed the weight I've gained right off as soon as I'm on my own and in complete control of my food supply again. I was looking for diet and exercise suggestions in the interim because I was unhappy with the pudge around my midsection and it'd be better for both me and my lady if we got in better shape, and while I've been skinny for a while now I've never been truly fit[./i]

If caloric control is not an option and a complete revamp of our diet is necessary then so be it but we'll both be starting a regular exercise regimen regardless.

If anybody has suggestions that are information rich for me to read and can understand that this doesn't mean I am unwilling to read things by all means, links, book titles, studies and researchers, etc.

I am still very interested in stuff that I can make to take with me to work, exercise regimens (she just purchased a membership to 24 Hour Fitness, I will on payday), etc.

EDIT: FYI I read the entire first page of the Low Carb thread that was linked, I'll go back later when I have more time and I'm not mulling over what I've just read. It's not that I don't want to read it's that I don't have the time or patience for a bunch of nonsense and non-sequiturs that are actually counter productive to me losing weight (when you factor in how much time I spent sitting in one position reading them).

I recommend reading through the low carb thread completely because you will see a lot of questions about how the diet works and why it works better than simply counting calories. If you want to read a book, check out Good Calories, Bad Calories.

About your concerns about the SE thread, weighlifting can actually help you lose weight in the long run because the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. Not to mention being fit isn't just about having low body fat it's about strength and endurance.

I am still very interested in stuff that I can make to take with me to work, exercise regimens (she just purchased a membership to 24 Hour Fitness, I will on payday), etc.

All of this is in that thread and not everyone is trying to be a big man. In fact, quite a few of us are trying to actively lose weight and asking questions in that thread about meal prep or routines has been incredibly helpful. If you had read even back the last 2 pages you'd see things like this:

Read that low carb thread and learn you some nutrition. Also pick something to do for cardio, though unless you want to be a distance runner, doing sprinting or other intense cardio actually works better for fat loss.

I am still very interested in stuff that I can make to take with me to work, exercise regimens (she just purchased a membership to 24 Hour Fitness, I will on payday), etc.

All of this is in that thread and not everyone is trying to be a big man. In fact, quite a few of us are trying to actively lose weight and asking questions in that thread about meal prep or routines has been incredibly helpful. If you had read even back the last 2 pages you'd see things like this:

This is essentially the Starting Strength novice plan, with dips replacing bench because my shoulders are fucked, and chins as an assistance exercise.

That are very helpful in starting a routine.

Except that you're talking to someone who doesn't know where to start and doesn't know what to do to lose weight. Saying "Here's my workout routine!" doesn't give him anything useful.

Next person who comes in here to complain that he made an H/A thread instead of reading a 75 page megathread pulls a serious infraction. Post if you want to help. If you aren't going to give advice, don't post.

I don't know if it's the most efficient, but from personal experience these are the following things I did to lose weight:

Subtle changes of habit. Instead of a soda with dinner, I cut it down to once a week and drank water instead. Eventually I cut it out completely. Then I started on a couple of food items, like candy bars and pop tarts and replaced them with carrots.

I also changed my routine, instead of crashing on the couch when I got home I started walking for 15 minutes around the neighborhood. I increased it to 30 minutes and then started walking in the morning beore work as well.

Eventually I took up swimming, which helped burn calories and built up some muscle mass. Gradual changes eventually build up as long as you stay on your routine.

I'd say as far as recipies go, don't starve yourself and choose things you like eating anyway in place of junk food. That way it won't seem much like dieting and you won't feel deprived.

I'm going to provide some generalized advice, but first a word of caution. Make sure that both you and your significant other are fully on board to make these changes. Food consumption, body image, and discipline can all be very touchy subjects. These sorts of life changes can create tense situations, especially if one partner is being cajoled or criticized by the other. Keep communication constant, and positive. Ensure decisions are made together with both parties agreeing. Otherwise someone can end up resenting what feels like being railroaded or demeaned.

Milk, water, coffee, and tea is where it's at, beverage-wise. Soda is awful for you, and juice is almost as bad. There are lots of things you can do to make water more interesting. My personal favorite is infusing water with mint, and sometimes lemon or cucumber.

Fat isn't the devil. Some fats (trans) are bad, and to be avoided. But there are lots of healthy fats out there. Just use them in moderation and intelligently. In addition to their nutritional content, they'll also help you stay fuller longer.

Protein is huge, especially if you're doing any kind of exercise. Meat (preferably local) is the obvious choice, but don't forget about beans, dairy, nuts, hell there's even an ancient grain (Quinoa) which fits the bill.

Whole foods, whole foods, whole foods. Shop from the outsides of the grocery store: Veggies, Bakery, Meat, Dairy, Frozen. Avoid heavily processed foods like canned soup, noodle packages, crackers, cookies, and frozen meals. Not only do you overpay for the privilege of them preparing the food for you, the food contains less nutrients as consequence of the processing. They also tend to have hugely jacked up salt to make up for the fact that they taste like nothing post-processing. Important exceptions: Frozen veggies/fruit are fine, canned vegetables can be fine.

Don't grocery shop hungry, you'll buy things you don't need. Meal plan for the week, make a list of what you need, and stick to it. Don't want to eat it? Keep it out of the house.

Is there something you really like which is processed? With few exceptions, finding out how to make it yourself at home almost always results in a tastier, healthier result. There is basically a recipe for everything on the internet at this point.

As this post has gotten quite large, the only thing I'll say about exercise is to ensure you incorporate weight-lifting immediately. Cardio's great, as a form of weightlifting for your heart, but the gains in physical ability and appearance were most apparent to me from the lifting. Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe is heavily endorsed by most people on this forum, and a good place to start when you want to do some heavier research into the subject.

Cutting carbs is the best advice because of what carbs are. They're high calorie and low volume. In other words, if you eat 300 calories of rice, or bread, you're not going to feel full. If you eat 300 calories of a meat/protein, you're going to feel pretty full, and that fullness is going to stick with you for a while, too (which makes it easier to not overeat in general).

You can think of it like a puzzle. Say you only have 1600 calories that you can eat in a day. How are you going to fit the 140cal sugar soda in there? Hmm, but you could have an infinite number of diet, 0cal sodas. You could cook up your veggies with a tbsp of oil, or you could use a 1/2 tbsp to make space for some cheese on top of the veg. Stuff like that.

Dieting is about smart tradeoffs with what you eat. It's about just looking at the calorie information and saying "This is a good deal, this is a bad deal, I'm going to not eat this so that I can eat this other thing."

You'll find it's easiest if you focus on a meat, cooked with spices that aren't flour/corn, and a lot of veggies, because they're naturally low calorie for the most part (barring potatoes and other starchy vegs).

You'll also soon notice that a lot of foods you like really aren't that bad for you except for maybe one ingredient. I like to bring up Whopper Jrs because they're $1 and taste OK, and BK posts up the nutrition information for all of the ingredients. A Whopper Junior, ordered without mayo but adding cheese, mustard, and bacon is a mere 360 calories. Or order it without mayo (and possibly add mustard) and it's 260 calories.

Yet the Small Fries you can get along with it are 340 calories. See how the tradeoff works?